


A Shadow From The West

by heartsdesire456



Series: Uncle Phil [10]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-04
Updated: 2013-10-04
Packaged: 2017-12-28 09:25:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/990404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Phil nodded. “Stiles, you have the expertise here. How do we go about dealing with this?” he asked, surprising most everybody at the table.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Stiles raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “First off, contact Peter and Chris Argent,” he said, looking at Allison. “Peter’s words have to be taken with a grain of salt, but he is older and more experienced than any of us so we’ll need him. Your dad is obvious," he instructed, and she nodded. He looked at Phil. “And your team just needs to stay ready for anything.”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Phil nodded, looking slightly impressed. “Can do.”</i>
</p>
<p>9th fic to a series in which Phil is Stiles's uncle and Stiles and his friends are sneakier than Phil ever could have imagined. (M/M this time)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Shadow From The West

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I know I said 'one last fic', but there's a very clear divide between 'New York' and 'Going Back To Beacon Hills' and I wanted to make it here. So this is NOT the final fic in the series. This is the penultimate fic in the series. The next and ACTUAL final part will conclude the storyline, but by itself, this fic is it's own FIC (obviously the series is necessary, but it has it's own 'story' within).

After easily the worst night of Stiles’s time in New York – including the night he got kidnapped to begin with – Stiles was not excited about working with Danny and Stark to get to the bottom of their problem, so the news that Tony had discovered something was definitely good news…

Until they got it. 

“So, Agent, who do we know in Paso Robles?” Tony asked, plopping down at the table across from Phil. 

However, before Phil could reply, both Allison and Scott both choked on their food and drinks respectively, panicked looks crossing their faces. “Paso Robles?!” Scott asked, looking horrified.

Tony nodded. “Yep. A retirement home specifically. Something about the ‘healing waters’-“

Stiles went cold and turned to look at Scott and Allison, only to begin to shake when neither of them would meet his eyes. “What. The. Hell?!” he demanded, panic rising. “What do you know? Scott?! Scott, tell me what you know-“

Allison shook her head. “Stiles, it’s not his fault. Me and my dad made him swear-“

“RETIREMENT HOME?!” Stiles snarled, startling everyone, it seemed, apart from Phil, who put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s in a freaking _retirement home_?!” he demanded, then sat back heavily, grabbing at his shirt. “Shit, I can’t- I can’t-“

“Stiles?!”

“What’s going on-“

Lydia stood up. “Shut up, all of you,” she demanded, then walked around the table to pull Stiles’s chair back. “Stiles, Stiles breathe with me, okay?” She knelt down and put her hands on his knees, looking up into his eyes. “Breathe.” She nodded as he struggled to breathe with her. “That’s okay, in and out.”

“I- I can’t-“ Stiles let out a broken sound. “I can’t-“

“Yeah you can, buddy.” Everyone was surprised when Stark circled the table and squatted down beside Lydia. He didn’t touch Stiles, but he looked him in the eyes, a dark shadow of pain in his own eyes. “Just breathe okay? You can totally breathe. See? You’re breathing.”

“Hurts,” Stiles choked out and Tony nodded.

“Yeah I know, but it’ll be better,” he promised. “But you know what, you can breathe. You can do it. It’ll stop hurting if you just breathe in and out. Just like you’re doing.”

Lydia and Stark both stayed right there until Stiles finally started to breathe evenly and stopped swaying in his seat. Lydia smiled when Stiles’s eyes finally started to clear and she winked. “Nice try, Stiles. I’m not kissing you again,” she said and Stiles managed a weak laugh. She patted his thigh then stood up, putting an arm around his shoulders. “Now, what the hell was that?” she demanded of Allison and Scott in turn. She rubbed at Stiles’s hair as he leaned his forehead against her side. “The only time I’ve seen Stiles have a panic attack was when he thought his dad was going to die. What the _hell_ is in Paso Robles?”

Allison and Scott exchanged guilty glances before Allison looked up. “Gerard.”

It was clear that only Lydia, Jackson, Derek, and Isaac even knew what was going on by the way they reacted. Jackson paled with fear growing in his eyes, Derek looked enraged, and Isaac just shrank in on himself some. “Wait, Torture Me, Grandpa is still alive?!” Everybody stopped for a moment and Stiles lifted his head from Lydia’s side, giving Isaac a strange look. Isaac cringed. “Yeah… that didn’t come out the way I thought it would.”

Stiles actually managed a weak laugh. “Oh God, that was the grossest thing I’ve ever heard!” he wheezed, then sobered some, turning his eyes to Scott. “Scott… why?” he asked sadly. “Why didn’t you tell me-“

“Why is he _alive_?!” Jackson demanded. He shook his head. “I thought he was dead for sure. He- he should be dead-“

Derek growled dangerously, eyes on Allison. “He tortured my betas. He _tortured them_ and then let them go so they would be bait and then she _died_ -“

Phil interrupted, his eyes on Stiles. “Gerard is the person who tortured you,” he said and Stiles nodded, swallowing hard. 

Tony walked around the table, shaking his head. “I don’t get it. Why would he be hacking into SHIELD files looking for Phil?” He gestured to his tablet on the table where he had left it. “That’s what he did. This person was going for Phil’s files the same time these two were.”

Clint sat up. “What is he? Mercenary?”

Allison shook her head. “Hunter. Only a hunter. After my aunt was killed he went crazy and wanted to kill all werewolves, not just evil ones-“

“No,” Derek said weakly. He looked up. “It wasn’t after that. He’s always been like that. He’s the one who started everything. He killed his own hunters to make it look like the werewolves attacked during a peace meeting and then he killed them all and declared open season. It was at a gathering of alphas-“

Stiles interrupted. “Derek’s mother was the ultimate alpha,” he explained. “Think of Pepper levels of leadership qualities,” he said to Tony. “With unimaginable alpha powers and strength,” he said to Ethan and Aiden. “And the level headedness of someone like Phil only even more,” he said to Clint. “I know I got biased information from both my sources, but the way I hear it, Talia Hale was basically the most cunning, brilliant, powerful, resourceful, and level headed alpha anyone had ever known.” He turned to Allison. “And when all of the alphas from the area came to Beacon Hills to seek her advice on what to do about Gerard and his hunters, she warned them not to trust him but they thought they could and he _started a war_. They extended the olive branch and he declared open season. The fact your dad and you escaped from that same mentality is a miracle, because Gerard is pure, unadulterated _evil_ ,” he stressed. “He kidnapped me from under my dad’s nose – the Sheriff’s kid from the field in front of the Sheriff – to use me to send a message that he knew they wouldn’t even get! Do you see what I’m saying?! He tortured a human teenager who was the child of the head of local law enforcement even though he knew I wouldn’t even get back in time to show anybody what happened just because he is _fearless_.” 

Allison swallowed hard and tilted her head. “Okay, I believe you, but that doesn’t answer why he was looking for your uncle.”

Derek looked up. “Who all knew Stiles was here?” he asked Scott, who frowned.

“Ummm before we came after him, just his dad and my mom and me and Isaac really. I don’t know where he would hear it-“

Stiles gasped. “Oh God, he’s got someone in at the station,” he said, looking up with horrified eyes. “Scott he’s watching my dad.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Isaac said, frowning. “Why would he target you? No offense, Stiles, but of all of us, why would he target you?”

Aiden broke the silence. “Because that’s how they demoralize you,” he said softly. He looked up with clear pain in his eyes. “They hurt the one that you’re supposed to protect to break your spirit.” Ethan reached out and touched his Brother’s hand. “Stiles is the obvious target because he’s Scott’s best friend. His dad is the town’s head of law enforcement. Stiles has been a Hale ally even if they don’t know _more_ there. He’s friends with Lydia and Danny and Allison so it would crack the humans too. Hell, even Allison’s dad would feel responsible if someone got Stiles. It would make you all weaker.”

Stiles nodded. “And they didn’t count on my uncle being a secret agent so when they looked him up, they probably saw his face and _somehow_ \- probably a stroke of chance – they saw him on tv during those actions that made me suspicious enough to look into him,” he said, looking at Phil. “They wanted to find out more about you so they could use me being alone with you to their advantage.”

Clint tapped his fingers gravely. “The question is, who is ‘they’. It sounds like one guy is all that’s left.”

Derek shook his head. “There are still hunter networks everywhere. Even with the Argent clan broken and scattered, the name still carries weight.”

Tony nodded. “Right, and on a scale of ‘meh’ to ‘holy hell’ how much trouble can hunters be? I mean… they’re guys with guns, right?”

Derek looked down and away, jaw clenched. “My family – my pack – had eleven people. One hunter killed eight of them and left one comatose. Only reason the other two of us survived is because we were at school,” he said tightly. “In the end it turned out one of them had survived, but that fact still stands, one hunter took out an entire pack.”

“And that included the Alpha to win all of the Alpha awards,” Stiles added somberly. “Gerard Argent is dangerous. I thought he was dead and still had nightmares that never seemed to end.”

Phil nodded. “Stiles, you have the expertise here. How do we go about dealing with this?” he asked, surprising most everybody at the table.

Stiles raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “First off, contact Peter and Chris Argent,” he said, looking at Allison. “Peter’s words have to be taken with a grain of salt, but he is older and more experienced than any of us so we’ll need him. Your dad is obvious.” He looked at Derek – if reluctantly – and spoke. “You need to find Cora. If he’s after me to ‘break’ the ones back home, it’s okay, but if he’s trying to break all of you, he’ll know that with me out of his reach, Cora is the fastest way to get to you and Isaac at least.” Derek nodded and stood up immediately, turning on his heel and pulling out his phone as he left. “I need to let my dad know that the most likely situation is there’s a hunter planted at the station. Scott, warn your mom. He used her to make you betray Derek last time, he might use her to get to you again,” he instructed, and Scott nodded. He looked at Phil. “And your team just needs to stay ready for anything.”

Phil nodded, looking slightly impressed. “Can do.”

~

“Hey Boss man?” Stiles looked up as Phil answered the video call on the television behind them.

“Yes, Barton?”

“Yeah, we’ve got a guy down in the lobby saying he’s looking for Stiles and his friends,” Clint said. “Says he’s from Beacon Hills.”

Ethan leaned past Stiles with a far more serious look on his face than fit his words. “Is he serial killer looking, or a DILF?” he asked, and Stiles and Aiden gave him horrified looks, while Phil just looked disturbed.

Clint seemed to think “Um, I’m gonna go with DILF. He looks like probably early forties, mid-forties- Actually he reminds me of Phil sort of.”

“Yep, DILF,” Ethan said, smiling. He frowned when Stiles and Aiden cringed and Danny raised an eyebrow. “What? Allison’s dad totally has that ‘sweet middle aged man who can secretly kill you’ vibe.”

Aiden huffed. “Ethan!” he cried in contempt. “Chris Argent is a _hunter_ not a- a-“ He made a face. “I’m not even saying that, no way.”

“Hey guys? I think your serial killer is with him,” Clint interrupted. “Really hot, kinda murderous looking?” he asked and Stiles nodded.

“Yep. Scary Hot is totally Peter,” he said then stood up. “What the hell are those two doing here?” he asked, going to find Allison before they got there.

By the time Stiles got back with Allison, both Peter and Chris were standing in the living room talking to Phil and Clint. Allison smiled and skipped down the steps. “Daddy!” she cried and Chris immediately took the last few steps and caught her, hugging her close with a crushing look of relief on his face that made Stiles feel bad about watching.

“Allison, thank God,” he said, kissing her head. “Are you really okay?” he asked, pulling back to look at her. “You’ve said it on the phone, but are you really?”

Allison smiled and nodded. “I’m fine, Dad, I promise,” she said, hanging onto his arm when they turned back to the others. She looked up and Stiles followed her eyes to see Derek standing on the other side of the room, coming out of the hall.

Peter looked over at Derek and smirked. “Do I get the same greeting, dear nephew?” he drawled and Derek snorted.

“If you try to hug me, I’ll rip your face off and make you eat it,” he said flatly, going to join them. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be watching out for Scott and Stiles’s parents.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Why stick around with the boring normal people and miss the action?” He smirked, eyes flicking at Ethan. “Besides, as our young friend pointed out, I’m looking after one of the parents, I just picked the one that’s way more fun to look at,” he said, giving Chris a lecherous once over.

Chris cringed visibly. “Well thanks for those nightmares,” he said shuddering.

Allison frowned, glancing at Ethan. “What did you… Ew, Ethan!” she cried, looking traumatized.

Ethan flushed. “Oh shut up, I heard you and Lydia talking about Stiles’s dad and what the uniform does for his shoulders, you do not get to judge me.”

“OKAY! This just got way more mentally scarring than I ever wanted it to be,” Stiles interrupted, though he shot Allison a grossed out look. “Back to the who Murder Man Is Targeting Stiles thing,” he prompted. He glared at Chris Argent, who at least had the decency to look guilty. “You may have missed it, but Gerard kinda kidnapped and tortured me once before. Me. The Human. A human kid. You put him in a freaking retirement home after the _murdered people and kidnaped me_?”

“We thought he was no longer a problem,” Chris said firmly. “He has accomplices, it seems-“

“No shit, he knew where I was, meaning he’s spying on my dad.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s go start talking,” he said, grabbing Argent’s jacket to haul him along behind him on his way into one of the meeting rooms he’d found. “We’ve got a lot to discuss today, dudes,” he said simply, not waiting for everyone to follow him.

~

It was late and the kids, as well as most of the adults, had retired to their rooms when Phil wandered into the main kitchen, intent on a midnight snack before bed, only to find Stark, Banner, Barton, and Rogers all sitting around the table with mugs and glasses. “Agent!” Stark said in surprised when he walked in. 

Phil raised an eyebrow. “Superhero book club?” he asked flatly, earning an exaggerated eye roll from Stark. He went to the refrigerator and took out one of Stark’s expensive, imported lemon sodas, then went to the table, sliding into the empty seat on the right of Banner, across from Clint at the head of the table, Stark between Banner and Clint, and Steve to Phil’s right. “Nobody can sleep?” he asked with a softer look in his eyes as he caught Clint’s gaze.

Clint smirked. “Gossiping, actually,” he said, taking a swig of his beer. “Bruce and Tony got dirt on the kids,” he said and Bruce shook his head whereas Tony smirked.

“Yep. I was just telling Clint about my buddy Danny’s shitty boyfriend history. Turns out punching me over one of the double mint twins was totally because it’s the first one who hasn’t been a dick.”

Phil chortled. “I feel like punching you all the time, I just can’t because my physical therapist says I might wrench my shoulder.”

Bruce grinned slyly, sipping his tea. “Don’t worry, we all wanna hit Tony sometimes,” he said and Steve and Clint nodded.

Tony scoffed. “Lies, you all love me,” he said, then sipped his scotch before pointing at Phil. “Oooh the dirt we’ve got on your nephew!” he said and Bruce shot him a look.

“Tony, maybe we should respect Stiles’s privacy,” he suggested. “We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, we weren’t invited to have that information.” Tony shot him a look as if to say ‘do you know me?!’ and Bruce sighed almost as dramatically as Stark liked to. “Whatever, I’m staying out of this.” He held up his hands as if removing himself from blame.

Clint leaned back, putting his feet up on the table, arms behind his head as he pushed his chair back on two legs. “C’mon, Stark. Spill!”

Tony smirked. “Okay so apparently at some point this year there were virgin sacrifices and the asshole kid that’s really hot-“

“Tony!” Bruce chastised, but Tony continued.

“Made a joke about Stiles being a virgin sacrifice, then they started talking about how, at the time, Stiles totally tried to get Danny to sleep with him so he didn’t have to worry about being sacrificed,” Tony explained. ‘Well, somebody made a joke about ‘well we can always sacrifice him now’ and then the nice twin made some crack about ‘not anymore’-“ Clint raised an eyebrow at Tony, who nodded, smirking. “Oh yeah, and then it gets better! His best friend was like ‘what the hell, dude, you didn’t tell me?!’ and turns out nobody knew and then we started to make our escape from the awkward, but we totally heard the confirmation.”

Phil cringed. “Nice, I really want to know about my _nephew’s sex life_ ,” he said, giving Tony a look.

Bruce chuckled. “Oh it gets better,” he said, then flushed, looking sheepish when he realized he spoke out loud.

Clint snickered. “You really are no better than Stark, just admit it, Bruce,” he said, bringing his beer to his lips with one hand, the other still around the back of the chair as he balanced on two legs. “So, what does ‘better’ mean?”

Tony and Bruce shared a look and Bruce sighed in defeat, prompting Tony to drum on the table excitedly. “We know which one it was he did it with,” he said and Clint raised an eyebrow. “You know the big, scruffy one?” he asked slyly.

Clint choked on his beer, his eyes flew wide, he flailed some, and barely managed to fall back on all four legs of his chair instead of tip over backwards. “What?!” he gasped out, wincing when Steve reached over to pat him on the back as he fought to catch his breath.

Bruce nodded. “Oh yeah. Hale.”

Phil stared at them as he parsed the information, then squared his shoulders, attempting to look casual as he picked at the label of his soda. “So Stark… how old would you say Hale is?” he asked, and Tony rolled his eyes.

“Oh come on, Phil, Stiles is seventeen-“

“I’m aware of that, I also know the age of consent in California is eighteen and Stiles’s father is a sheriff,” Phil said pointedly. 

Clint whistled. “Uh-oh, Hale is fucked!” he said, then snorted. “Although at this point, since it sounds like he and Stiles fell out, I’d be way more afraid of Stiles. He’s like a mini-Phil,” he said and Bruce chuckled.

“The point still stands, Hale has to be a good deal older,” he said, giving Phil a look. “Is it worth the trouble to report him to Stiles’s dad later?” he asked. “I mean, it didn’t sound like he wanted his friends knowing, I’d had to imagine his _dad_ finding out-“

Tony spluttered. “Oh come on, you can’t be serious,” he said, giving Phil a look. “Age of consent is eighteen my ass! What seventeen year old _isn’t_ having sex? Hell, who makes it to seventeen and is still a virgin?” Tony asked, making a face as if it was the craziest thought ever.

Bruce frowned for a second, then shot Tony an amused look. “A lot of kids, are virgins at seventeen, Tony.”

Tony scrunched up his face. “Ew, really? Wow, that would suck,” he said, sipping his drink. “Maybe the fat kid or something.”

Phil raised an eyebrow. “I was a virgin at seventeen,” he said, and Tony rolled his eyes.

“Yeah but you were probably a nerd,” he dissented. He leveled Steve with a smirk. “I _know_ you were a virgin at seventeen,” he said, winking. Nobody else offered anything and Tony held up a hand. “Wait, right now, tell me _somebody_ in this room had sex earlier than seventeen,” he said, looking at Bruce.

Bruce scoffed. “Hell no. More like twenty-three,” he said, and Tony and Clint both shot him disbelieving looks. “What?! Have you _met_ me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Clint whistled. “Wow, okay I’ll bite, I was fifteen,” he said to Stark, who held out a hand.

“Thank you! Exactly! That’s more like it,” he said, then shrugged. “I was fourteen, but I was also in _college_ so maybe this is why I don’t see the big deal with Stiles and an older dude.”

JARIS broke the silence. “Mr. Hale is twenty-three, sir.

Tony gestured. “See? Just six years.”

Clint hummed. “Eh, he’s still twenty-three and Stiles is seventeen,” he said. “Technically statutory rape no matter what. At least in California.”

Bruce shrugged. “I get that, and it’s totally not our business anyhow,” he said, giving pointed looks to everyone besides Phil. “But let’s be fair, Stiles is a very mature kid for his age. He has dealt with stuff some SHIELD agents haven’t had to face and he’s still pretty much ticking,” he said, then nodded at Phil. “And when we worked out what was happening as far as the same man who tortured him being the one digging on you, even after having a minor panic attack, he got up and started giving the others orders like that was just what he does.”

Tony chortled. “God knows I know how panic attacks feel. I’m shaken pretty badly after one, I can’t imagine having them at seventeen without a suit of armor to go feel safe in.”

Phil chuckled, then nodded, settling back. “To be fair, I doubt telling his father would do anything anyhow. Stiles seems to be the one that takes care of his father, so I guess making him worry about Stiles wouldn’t help that,” he agreed. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I still don’t like the Hale kid. He’s an asshole.”

“I don’t think he’s as much of an asshole as we think,” Bruce said softly. He looked up and fidgeted. “Derek seems pretty lost and afraid. He’s a werewolf so being a tough guy is how he fights being vulnerable, but he always looks lost and afraid and God knows I know how that feels,” he said with a note of bitterness in his tone. “I have no insight into his and Stiles’s relationship, but I definitely don’t think Derek’s as much of a jerk as he seems to be. It’s easier to lash out to protect yourself than to let people know how bad things are in your head,” he said softly, looking down at his mug as a thoughtful hush settled over the others in the room.

~

Phil entered a meeting room that he’d been instructed to and was surprised to see the kids had clearly commandeered the board room for their own planning. “Wow, nice set up,” he said, catching the attention of the twins, who were nearest the door. He walked past them and examined the wall of print-offs of photos, sheets, and maps, some connected by strings and pegs. He looked at Argent, who was examining the array, and nodded. “Pretty impressive organization, Mr. Argent.”

Argent looked up, then blinked in realization. “Oh, no, this was Stiles,” he said, looking back over at Stiles, who was pacing while talking on the phone. “He called us all in here early this morning and it was like this.”

“Stiles does this,” Scott offered from his spot slowly spinning in one of the rolling chairs. He stopped himself with his feet and gestured. “He has trouble focusing cause of his ADHD, so he puts it all out visually so that he can take a step back and look at everything together.”

Danny nodded from his spot laying on top of the meeting table, hands folded under his head so he had to tilt his head upside down to look at Phil. “Yeah, Stiles is like third in our class, so obviously he learned to focus pretty damn well since his meds don’t really do shit, it seems.”

“Oh no, they do,” Isaac said, kicking at Scott’s chair to spin him. “He stayed with us one night and didn’t bring his meds and the next day it was like a dog with in a sea of squirrels,” he said and Scott laughed.

“Isaac had never seen Stiles unmedicated. He’s very jumpy and has nervous twitches and flails even more than normal. And he kinda has this crazy look in his eyes,” Scott added, snickering. “He starts talking, then will go off in a whole different direction with his conversation. He gets distracted by absolutely nothing and can go through like six things at once.” He hummed. “Actually, he does that on his medication too, but just more in control about it.”

Lydia spun her chair around to face them and away from her conversation with Allison. “Actually once you’re medicated, ADD makes it easier to multi-task. It’s bad in little kids, but now that Stiles has lived with it his whole life and there’s no signs of growing out of it, when he’s on his meds, he should be able to do more things at one time so he can study faster. That’s why he’s right up there with Danny and Danny’s got a minor level of genius like me.”

Chris Argent chuckled. “Stiles has amazing observational and planning skills. He gets it from his father, I’m sure,” he said, shaking his head. “To be a non-hunter human, John Stilinski is a very clever man. It was only Stiles knowing how to play him that kept him in the dark about the truth in Beacon Hills as long as it did.” He grinned. “He’d be a great hunter if he wasn’t partial to saving vicious killers just because he doesn’t want to see anybody die and then harboring fugitive werewolves.”

Danny grinned. “You mean hiding Derek in his bedroom for three days and telling me it was his cousin ‘Miguel’?” he snickered. 

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Actually I meant Scott. When did he harbor Derek?”

“The cops were looking for him and you guys were looking for him, so Stiles let him hide in his room and he just shoved him in the closet when his dad came up,” he explained. He snorted. “He needed me to come track a text message so he told me we were doing chemistry homework then shoved a laptop at me, and when I said no, he totally tricked Derek into taking his shirt off so I wouldn’t want to leave.” 

Scott let out a laugh. “That never stops being funny to imagine! Oh God, Derek being paraded around as eye candy.”

Isaac scoffed. “It’s what he gets for going shirtless all the time. I lived with this guy, he is like allergic to shirts!”

“Why are we talking about Derek to Phil?” Phil raised an eyebrow as Stiles spoke up. “What? Derek’s the only one who gets shirtless all the time, everybody else knows how to wear clothes,” he said, going over to pin something else on one of the maps. “Alright, Chris, my man! My dad says Ruiz and Thorne are both for sure legit, not hunters, so that’s two places knocked off.”

Argent nodded, walking closer. “Allison is still reaching out to hunters we know. Seeing if they have any idea what Gerard might be doing.” He stepped back. “We’re sure the base is in Beacon Hills?” he asked and Stiles nodded.

“He would know better than to come after me, so he’ll go for my dad.” He rubbed a hand over his head. “Dad can’t leave town to come here but he doesn’t want me to come back and get in the line of fire, so since Stark said we’re welcome to stay until school starts back, I’m stuck here,” he said, visibly frustrated. 

“What if we go back?” Scott asked, looking up at Stiles. “You have to stay, but the rest of us can get Jackson to buy us return tickets and we can all go home and-“

“And get caught,” Stiles said pointedly. “The whole purpose of going after me is to break you guys from the inside. I’m the weakest link in the chain. If you guys go back, he’ll go for the next weakest link. The effect will be the same. We need to find him and go home on the attack, not on standby to _be_ attacked.”

Phil raised an eyebrow, impressed by Stiles’s logic. “What is this guy’s aim? Why does he want to take you all out so bad, apart from the ‘werewolf hunters aren’t that moral’ thing.”

Stiles and Chris shared a look, and then Stiles sighed and crossed his arms. “To start with, ‘we’ killed his daughter,” he said and Phil raised an eyebrow. “It was Peter, really, but it was a werewolf and we’re all werewolves or sympathizers.” He tilted his head. “Then Gerard came to town, he tried to kill all of us – he’d have killed me if he wanted – and in the course of things, for a while there Allison tried to kill us because her mother killed herself after being bit by Derek out of self-defense.” Phil just blinked. “Yeah,” Stiles said sheepishly. “It’s complicated.”

Phil looked to Chris. “And you and Allison turned sides? Why?”

Chris crossed his arms, shifting from heel to toe a few times. “Because unlike my sister and unlike my wife, I could see that what we were doing under my father’s leadership was wrong. My wife was supposed to be in charge – Argent hunters are matriarchal – but he manipulated her however he wanted her to decide. I didn’t go against it the same way I never intervened on Kate eating up his words when we were kids and being trained and she ended up being just as sadistic as Gerard.” He shook his head. “My wife killed herself, and at the time I let her and even helped her because I still believed all werewolves were doomed to murder. I lost my wife and my child lost her mother because of Gerard and the stupid Argent traditions. When her pain turned to hatred, Allison became Gerard’s newest tool now that her mother was gone and she was young enough to be manipulated far too easily. I was not going to see my daughter end up a coldhearted killer like my sister was.” He glanced across the room at Allison. “When the time came and Gerard was gone, I ended our days hunting for good.”

Stiles nodded. “Or so he thought, until recently when we needed them to save people.”

Phil nodded. “It’s not unheard of to change sides. My assets both did it even. However, I have to ask you, what made you go from staying out of it to joining in?”

Chris sighed and rolled his eyes. “Allison. Her refusal to back out and let them fight it out meant it was either help or let her get involved and get hurt. Besides,” he said, looking around the room. “They’re still just kids.”

Stiles nodded. “Chris is lucky. He was skipped by the ‘psycho’ gene. And now that my dad and Scott’s mom know and know that he knows, there’s a more human side to werewolves for him to see, so I’m not worried about these two Argents in particular trying to kill us – or tie us up and torture us as the other two seemed to enjoy - all again.”

Phil tilted his head. “Torture wasn’t an isolated even, huh?” he asked Chris, who cringed.

“Unfortunately, my sister was even sicker than my father.” He turned to Stiles. “I’m going to go talk to Peter – God help me – and see if he has any memory of things going weird around Beacon Hills from his point of view.”

Stiles nodded appraisingly. “Good idea. He would notice things we didn’t. Nice work,” he complimented. He turned to Phil when Chris left. “Phil, could you possible ask Dr. Banner to check on the compound signatures I sent him just a little while ago? The lab back home was stumped by it so my dad had the results organized and sent them to me for Lydia to look at. It’s a potential hunter kill but the victim wasn’t something that I recognized from the bestiary.”

Phil chuckled, more than a little amused. “Yes, of course. I’m sure Bruce will be happy to do it.”

Stiles relaxed some in relief. “Thanks, that’s a huge lead for us. If the timeline on that kill leads to any of the suspicious areas back home, we can help rule out some neighborhoods,” he explained, going back to his wall of documents.

~

Stiles walked up to the door, stopped, walked away, then hesitated and came back. He reached out twice before finally steeling himself to knock quickly but softly, his knuckles falling on the wood in short raps. He waited with bated breath, listening for footsteps coming his way. After what felt like hours but had only been a few moments, the handle turned with a startlingly loud clack for how silent the hall was. The door opened and Derek stood there, looking forcedly blank-faced. “Hey,” Stiles said softly, offering him a smile. Derek raised a questioning eyebrow and Stiles sucked in a breath and just went. “Hi, so, hey can I come in?”

Derek seemed to droop some and he nodded, stepping aside. He let Stiles in and followed him to the living area of his suite. Stiles hovered awkwardly by the couch, then passed it, heading towards the window, glancing out. “What is it, Stiles?” Derek asked plainly and Stiles turned back.

“I was wondering if you’ve reached Cora,” Stiles started, inwardly flinching when he saw how Derek’s eyes twitched in annoyance. “It’s just that if you have talked to her, we need to know if she’s coming. And if you haven’t, we need to entertain the possibility that she’s going to be their bargaining chip-“

“She’s fine,” Derek said, and Stiles blinked at him in surprise. Derek rolled his eyes. “She’s safe, Stiles. If that was all, then-“

Stiles stopped him by walking closer as he gestured sarcastically at the door. “If she’s safe, why isn’t she here?” he asked curiously. “Even if she doesn’t have anything to fear, there’s still the matter of this being a serious threat. Why didn’t she come back to help you?”

Stiles knew his mistake when he saw a flash of pain in Derek’s kaleidoscopic eyes. “Because she said, ‘I have a life and it doesn’t include you’,” Derek admitted hollowly, staring down at the floor with his hands fisted at his sides, shoulders stiff, almost as if daring Stiles to laugh.

Laughing was the last thing on Stiles’s mind. He looked up at Derek’s face and felt his gut twist. “Oh Derek,” he said weakly. He saw the pain in Derek’s features and he stepped closer. “It was horrible of her to say that,” he said, reaching out to lay his hand on Derek’s’ arm. 

Derek twisted out of the way, too-casually striding around to put the chair between them. “I can’t blame her,” he said gruffly and Stiles frowned, turning to track him across the room with his eyes as Derek went to sit on the couch. 

“What do you mean you can’t blame her?” Stiles stepped around the chair and walked around the coffee table, sitting on it in front of Derek, glaring pointedly when Derek made to move. “You’re her _brother_. How can she say that?”

Derek snorted. “Come on, that doesn’t mean-“

“It means everything,” Stiles argued. “How could she say that? You are her family,” Stiles said, more than a little surprised and outraged at Cora.

Derek leaned back against the back of the couch, sighing. “I was her brother six years ago,” he mumbled, looking down at his lap. “Now? I’m just a random guy to her. Blood doesn’t erase time.”

Stiles huffed. “Yes _exactly_!” He leaned forward. “You will always be her brother.”

“How much of a brother can I be if she didn’t even last a whole month living with me?” Derek asked. He let out a frustrated, pained sound. “I came back here for _her_. I came here to give her a new start in a new place. I came back to New York even though all it reminds me of is Laura to try and start a new life with the last person I thought I could count on and she just packed her stuff and left,” he admitted roughly. “And I don’t even know why I’m surprised!” Derek closed his eyes. “I don’t get good things. I either find out the good things aren’t good like I thought, or I get good things taken away from me.” He let out a soft sound. “Maybe it’s best she left before things went bad.”

Stiles head snapped up and Derek tensed, eyes still shut, as if he knew exactly what he’d just said. “Derek…”

“Stiles, no.”

Stiles shook his head in disbelief. “You left because you were afraid bad things would happen,” he realized.

Derek groaned. “Stiles, I left because Cora deserved a new start and I had nothing so stay for-“

“No, I get that,” Stiles said, smiling sadly. “Derek, I really do understand that much,” he said and Derek looked surprised. “I mean you left without so much as a ‘so hey, I’m leaving, later’ or anything. You were afraid.”

Derek took a breath the sat up to face Stiles. “Are we really talking about this now? Really, Stiles? After everything, now?”

Stiles rubbed a hand over his head. “Derek, we’re talking about this right now because of everything.” He let out a tired, humorless laugh. “I’m beyond caring anymore. I’m beyond being hurt, upset, angry… all of it is stuck in the shadow of this massive cloud of ‘Evil Gerard Is Back’ and I know that if we don’t talk now, I’ll leave before we get another chance.” He looked up and gave Derek a grave smile. “So yes. We’re doing this now.”

Derek pressed his palms into his eyes then nodded. “Fine. Let’s do it then.”

Stiles nodded. “This is the point where you apologize for pulling the world’s most extreme hit and run,” he prompted and Derek shook his head, face grim.

“I’m not apologizing for leaving the way I did,” he said, and Stiles started to argue but he continued. “I’m sorry you were hurt in the process, but I’m not apologizing for leaving before it could get worse. What we did… it was a huge mistake. It was a horrible decision.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow and sat back some, leaning his hands behind him on the coffee table surface. “I’m not sure I agree you get to say it was a huge mistake when I’m the one who was left wondering what happened, Derek,” he said gently but honestly. He gave a bitter twist to his words as he said, “You’re not the one who just gave it up in the heat of the moment and then found out that the guy skipped town.”

Derek looked up sharply, face serious and eyes angry. “What? Don’t say it like that,” he said and Stiles raised an eyebrow. “Don’t- don’t act like anything that happened was your fault. What I did was wrong and a mistake and I should’ve never got involved with you in the first place.”

Stiles actually flinched, then sat up straight. “Wow, fucking thanks, Derek. Sorry you got involved with dorky ol’ me. Oh, no, don’t thank me for all the times I saved your life by ‘getting involved’-“

“And what about all the times you almost _died_ for being there?” Derek countered. “Face it, I am the worst thing that ever happened to you. I ruined your life-“

Stiles spluttered. “Derek, what the hell?! Are you serious? You dumb ass, _I_ got everybody involved! Scott got bit because of me. My entire involvement was because of Scott being bit. Therefore, it was my fault I am involved. And even if it wasn’t, you didn’t make me do a damn thing. I saved your life multiple times because I wanted to. I helped you because I wanted to. Anything I have done in the past year was because I can’t let people down. I want to help people and you’ve needed a lot of it. Even besides, that, you are _not_ the worst thing to happen to me, that would easily be my mother dying,” he added, just to see Derek withdraw.

Derek swallowed hard, eyes wide like he’d been doused in cold water. “I’m- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” he muttered, then deflated. “Still, if nothing else, getting close to you… working with you all the time was wrong. I should’ve never done that. If I hadn’t, maybe we wouldn’t have grew close like that.”

Stiles sighed. “Derek, getting close isn’t wrong-“

“For me to get close to you is wrong, Stiles,” Derek argued.

Stiles shook his head. “It’s just not, Derek-“

“You were sixteen and I was twenty-two,” Derek said firmly, teeth gritted. “What I did to you is obscenely not right, and then toss in the fact you were a virgin-“

Stiles shook his head. “You didn’t do a damn thing I didn’t want-“

“Yeah well at the time I wanted everything she did to me-“ Derek froze, snapping his mouth shut mid-sentence.

Stiles’s heart clenched and his throat closed momentarily. “Derek. You are not Kate,” he said fiercely, glaring as he met Derek’s eyes. “Don’t you _ever_ compare yourself to her.”

Derek let out a broken sound that was almost a whimper. “Stiles, I was sixteen like you, she was twenty-two like me, I was a virgin-“

“First off, she was a psycho bitch who deserved way more than just her throat ripped out,” Stiles all but snarled, startling Derek with his rage-filed conviction. “Kate Argent was a piece of trash so useless that she wasn’t worth the dirt under the claws that killed her for what all she did to you,” he swore. His eyes softened some. “Also, Derek, you have to admit there’s a big difference in that you were barely sixteen, I was nearly seventeen, and you were still a child in way more ways than I have been since the day my mom died when I was eight years old,” he said firmly, biting back the lump in his throat. “I have more of a sense of the world than I sometimes think you have now, Derek. Kate tricked you and used you. I wanted you and you let me have you. Big difference.”

Derek clasped his hands, elbows on his knees, biting at his thumb uneasily. “Stiles, it doesn’t stop that I saw the parallels and refused to end up doing that again.” He let out a broken laugh, eyes glistening as he shook his head. “I wanted you so much and I knew I shouldn’t but I did. I’m so stupid.”

Stiles looked at Derek, trying to stay angry on at least some level. “Derek, leaving isn’t what hurt the most, it was you not even telling me you were going.” He hesitated. “Did you know you were leaving already when you showed up that night?”

Derek shook his head absently, mouth still on his knuckle. “No,” he whispered. “I should’ve just stayed away but I was so worried about you.” He closed his eyes as he chuckled brokenly. “I had to come see about you and then you just… you frustrate me so bad, Stiles. Always. You get to me and it makes it so hard when I get annoyed but never fully angry.” He closed his eyes. “It was history repeating itself in two different ways and neither of them any reason for me to not leave and save you the danger. I woke up and knew that if I stayed, it would end the same way as one or the other.” He looked at Stiles sadly. “You made me feel the way I had only felt once before and I didn’t want it to end that-“

“You are not Kate, and I am not Paige,” Stiles said firmly. 

Derek froze. His eyes widened and his mouth hung half-open for a moment. “You- how the hell do you know about- never mind.” He snorted. “Of course you know about Paige.” He nodded hesitantly. “Then you know that all she did was love me and I _killed her_ for it.”

Stiles stood up when Derek did, gaping as he circled away and went to stand at the window. “Derek, you didn’t kill her-“

“I held her in my arms and snapped her neck. I _killed_ her,” Derek said darkly. 

Stiles walked closer. “Derek, she was dying and you ended her suffering. Big difference.”

He shrugged, facing away from Stiles. “She still died because I loved her. No matter which way you spin it, if I didn’t love her, she’d have been safe. That’s how my life works. If I love something, I lose it.” He let out a soft chuckle so filled in pain that that small, broken laugh brought tears to Stiles’s eyes. “She died over nothing more than stupid, innocent teen love. Just think what would probably happen to you,” he muttered dejectedly.

Stiles stilled, stopping a few feet from Derek. “What do you mean by that?” he asked cautiously. Derek tensed and Stiles closed the distance and put a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “Derek… if you ‘only’ loved her…”

Derek let his head fall to the glass of the window, his eyes as hollow as the thud of his forehead against the glass. The words Derek uttered next, muttered low so it was hard to hear but inescapable to understand.

“You’re my mate, Stiles.”

After such a heavy confession, Stiles neither knew what to say or had any inclination to try to find words. Instead, he simply stood and waited beside Derek, looking out the window, until Derek finally turned and looked at him, hesitated, then walked over to the couch and sat down stiffly. Stiles followed and sat beside him, not wavering when he moved to lean over and lay his head on Derek’s shoulder, closing his eyes and curling into his side. Derek had sat stiffly a little longer before he slumped down and turned his hand over, letting Stiles’s fingers slot between his. 

Neither spoke, neither really looked at each other, and neither attempted to move.

~

When Stiles woke up, he blinked tiredly, only to realize he was staring at a ceiling. He lifted his head and winced at the crick in his neck from sleeping with his head back against the couch. He tried to reach up and rub at it, only to find his hand held captive. He looked down and froze at the sight of Derek lying asleep, curled up with his head pillowed on Stiles’s lap. His hand was tangled with Derek’s sleep-lax fingers on Stiles’s thigh next to where Derek’s face was tucked against his stomach. He carefully pulled his fingers free, then curled the same hand in Derek’s hair. He sighed as he gazed at how peaceful Derek’s face was as he slept. He stroked his thumb across Derek’s temple as he took in the rare sight. He slid his hand to rest on Derek’s cheek, brushing his prickly cheek. 

Derek was the most confusing person Stiles had never known. He was stubborn and determined even when he didn’t think he was right. He seemed determined to find a way to blame everything on himself no matter how heavy his burden already was. He didn’t have a single problem hurting people if it meant protecting their safety. Stiles knew that was what Derek had done to him. Stiles knew that if he truly was Derek’s mate his safety would mean more to Derek than Derek’s or his feelings. Derek would rather Stiles hate him than get hurt.

Stiles felt Derek tense and knew he was awake. “Hi,” he said softly, stroking his thumb across Derek’s cheekbone. Derek shifted and looked up at him. His eyes were so vulnerable and unguarded for a moment that Stiles’s breath caught in his throat. He looked from one eye to the other and Derek’s eyes turned questioning, even though he didn’t hide his vulnerability. Stiles floundered for a moment, unsure of himself, before leaning down and pressing a kiss to the Derek’s hair, curling his fingers lightly around his neck. “I’m here, aren’t I?” he asked, lips resting against his hairline as he hunched over Derek. He sat up and smiled when he saw how Derek’s eyes relaxed and his lips showed signs of twitching at the corners.

Derek sat up and turned to sit beside Stiles, leaning back against the cushions, stretching his arms over his head. “So, now that we’re being civil instead of antagonizing each other, can you catch me up on what we’re doing about Gerard?” he asked, and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Wow, you’re already awake enough for that?” he asked, then leaned his head over against Derek’s bicep when he crossed his arms behind his head. “Well, we’re sure he’s got people inside the department watching my dad and at the hospital watching Scott’s mom. There were probably people watching Chris but now that he’s here, Gerard probably knows we all know.” 

Derek rubbed a hand over his face, yawning. “So. What do we do?” he asked, Stiles, who gave him a mock-surprised face.

“Oh wow, Derek Hale asking _me_ what to do?!” Derek shot him a narrow eyed look and Stiles grinned. “Oh come on, it’s different, that’s for sure.”

Derek shrugged. “I’m not an alpha. I don’t _have_ to make all the decisions and work out solutions anymore. You’re like a human alpha because you do that. You’re the one who fixes things and takes care of everybody.”

Stiles shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” He put his feet up on the coffee table. “For now, we want to find where to strike before going home. If I go back, he’ll find a way to get to me and use me to throw them all off.”

Derek nodded. “But what if you stay here?” he asked, looking at Stiles closely. “You’ve got superheroes here to protect you.”

Stiles shook his head. “They’ll go after the next weakest link. Which is Danny.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to see what happens to Beacon Hills if something happens to Danny? Ethan would go berserk, Aiden would lose it over Ethan being so upset, and the wonder twins would go murder-happy all over everybody even slightly hunter-adjacent.”

Derek cringed. “Yeah, no, nothing can happen to Danny either. Ethan’s an alpha on his own, but with him and Aiden, they’re really two halves of an alpha so if Ethan goes into grief-fueled rage, Aiden’s going to follow and Scott and Isaac wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Stiles hummed. “Actually they might not try to stop them,” he said honestly. “I’m not kidding, Derek. We all _really_ love Danny. It’s a little unnatural how much we love him. I sometimes wonder if he’s not magic,” he said and Derek rolled his eyes.

“So if you guys can’t go home yet, how are you finding Gerard?” he asked.

Stiles shifted a little. “For now, Dad and Melissa are doing some snooping. I’m trying to get Chris and Peter to go back without us so they aren’t alone. Otherwise, we’re here until school starts for our own safety.” He made a face. “Danny’s parents think he and Ethan broke up and he’s spending the holidays with me because it was that bad. It’ll be hard to explain them getting together again when they get home.”

Derek looked down at Stiles closely. “So… when are you leaving?”

Stiles bit his lip, fighting his honest reaction. “January second.” He watched Derek take a deep breath, nodding more to himself than Stiles. “Derek… why don’t you come back?”

Derek lowered his arms and faced Stiles some. “I can’t,” he said softly, looking at him. “I left there twice now.”

“But what do you have here, Derek?” Stiles asked honestly. “You came here the first time with one sister and came back with another. Are you just going to be content to be here alone?”

Derek gave him a searching gaze, almost as if he could see into Stiles. “What is there for me in Beacon Hills?” he countered.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “People who care about you, Derek. At least three of us who actually care, not just in a general ‘don’t be sad, person’ way.” He watched Derek hesitating and bit his lip. “I’m not going to try to make you come back, you know that, right?” he asked, and Derek raised an eyebrow.

“Why not? You want my help-“

Stiles shook his head. “I want you _happy_.” He slid his hand into Derek’s, turning to face Derek even as Derek’s eyes zeroed in on the fingers Stiles had curled around his. “If you can be happy here, then stay here,” he said earnestly. “Beacon Hills has bad memories on every corner and I know that. I know coming home will hurt again and even worse now because all it has is newer bad memories.” He stroked his thumb along the ridge of Derek’s knuckles. “But I also know that here you’ll be alone.” He shook his head sadly. “You’re quiet and standoffish. You can’t let people in. You won’t make real connections here because you’ve been hurt too much to voluntarily let people in. I understand it, I don’t blame you for it, but I know that it means you’ll be alone for a long time before you get comfortable around people again.” Derek met his eyes and he saw the hurt there that ripped him apart every time he saw it. “It’s your choice, Derek. Face the bad memories and dangerous times ahead for the sake of having people care about you, or be somewhere you can be safe and build new, happier memories, but do so alone for a while.” He looked at their hands. “I see the positives in both choices and I don’t envy what you have to decide.”

Derek nodded absently, still looking at their clasped hands. “Do they, though?” he asked almost wistfully. “Does anybody actually care about me there, Stiles? Be honest with yourself. How many of them would give a damn if I was gone?”

Stiles paled, almost like someone had slapped him. “People care, Derek,” he said firmly. He let out a frustrated breath. “I understand it’s hard for you to accept it, but people care about you. You want proof people would care if you were gone? Scott _grieved_ you when we thought you were dead. He doesn’t even like you that much, but what you were as a reluctant mentor-slash-ally to him was enough to make him hurt when you ‘died’. No matter what side he chose in the end, Isaac owes everything to you. You will always be like a big brother to him because you’re the closest thing to family he has left.” He chuckled. “Hell, even if he has probably tried to kill you way more times than we even know about, Peter still loves you,” he said and Derek shot him a disbelieving look. “I’m serious! He may be evil, he’s probably still trying to take over the world, I’m ninety percent sure he’s trying to screw either Allison’s dad or mine –“ Derek gave Stiles a horrified look and he shuddered at the thought even as he said it. “- and I’m certain he’d kill any of us on a whim if he gets bored enough, but deep down? He loves you and Cora. It’s not just pack, it’s the way you love your family.” He smiled sadly. “After you two left, he was so listless. Even if it was a short time, having Cora there made him go all ‘protective uncle’ and without that he’s sort of empty handed a lot of the time.”

Derek smiled sadly, then looked at Stiles. “What about you?” he asked softly. Stiles raised an eyebrow questioningly and Derek rolled his eyes. “Come on. Even if we talked it out, you have to still sort of hate me for what I did to you,” he said, looking over Stiles’s face. “What I did was terrible and forgiveness – which I still don’t think you actually did that, not that I blame you – is not enough to just white-out away the part where I hurt you. You can’t be too eager to have me back around to remind you ‘oh yeah, Derek is an asshole’ all the time.”

Stiles smiled and rolled his eyes. “Derek, come on, first off – no, I’m not forgiving you, you are a dick for that and always will be.” He reached up and stroked Derek’s cheek in a way that had Derek going still, face blank and almost fearful. “But you had reasons. I understand them. And no matter what, I wanted to have sex with you. I stand by that decision no matter how it ended.” He scraped at Derek’s scruff with his thumbnail. “We were friends, almost. Maybe not friends yet, but we were reluctant friends. You knew me better than even Scott for a little while. No matter what happened, I’m going to always care about you, Derek.” He smiled tightly. “Big hearts run in the family. No matter what happened between us, I’ll always want you to be happy, even if it’s at my own sacrifice.”

Derek looked into Stiles’s eyes, leaning into his touch slightly. “Would you be able to handle having me around knowing that I _never_ stop thinking about you?” he asked, and Stiles was taken aback. Derek’s words were brutally honest. Almost so much that it was like a kick to the gut. 

Stiles swallowed hard, throat suddenly dry. “What do you mean by that?” he croaked, hand still on Derek’s face.

Derek let out a soft huff of reluctant amusement. “At first, I thought you were under my skin because you were so annoying. Then it went from you being frustrating as hell to that ‘heart in the throat’ feeling of ‘oh God’ when you were in trouble, even if I found out after the fact and knew you were fine. Eventually I started to realize what I was feeling for you and it made sense when I remembered about mates.” He shook his head. “It was bad enough how often I thought about you before, but after I had you, it was impossible.”

Stiles snickered, smirking immaturely. “Oh you ‘had’ me alright-“

“Stiles,” Derek argued flatly. “I did not mean that, you child-“

“Oh come on, you said ‘after I had you’, you cannot expect me to not giggle,” Stiles argued, smiling. He saw Derek’s lips twitch and he grinned harder. “You think it’s hilarious too, just give in and laugh,” he said, then moved to press his thumbs to the sides of Derek’s mouth, forcing a smile on his face. “Smile!”

Derek let out a soft laugh and swatted Stiles’s hands away. “Fine, God, it was a little dirty sounding-“

“It was just plain dirty, there’s no ‘sounding’ to it,” Stiles argued. “Also, ‘had’ is definitely the right way to put it.”

Derek snorted and leaned back some. “Yeah, about that, why didn’t you mention you were a virgin? You’d think that would be considered important information for the person taking your clothes off to know,” he said and Stiles shot him a look.

“Dude, seriously? I assumed you knew, and on the off chance you didn’t, since we weren’t doing anything that would’ve let you in on the fact I was – pun entirely intended –, I didn’t see any point in interrupting the hot, naked person rubbing off on me to go ‘oh yeah, by the way, this is kinda new to me’.” He snickered. “Besides, as fast as it was over, you’d think that might clue a guy in,” he pointed out.

Derek blushed. “There is a possibility I was just really smug about the fact I apparently really did it for you,” he admitted and Stiles let out a laugh.

“Derek, I hate to break it to you, but you pretty much do it for _everybody_ ,” he said, then tilted his head against the back of the couch, smiling contently as he looked Derek over. “I’ve missed bickering with you,” he said softly.

Derek tensed, but nodded. “Me, too,” he admitted, then swallowed hard. “I- I thought about you every single day, Stiles.”

Stiles nodded. “Same,” he all but whispered, before taking a breath and slowly rising from the couch. “We should really get to the others. A lot of planning today.” Stiles faltered, and then turned, extending his hand to Derek. “Big day, huh?” he asked, silently pleading with his eyes alone for Derek to take his hand and stand.

He did so without hesitation.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for sticking with me so far. One more to go, guys!


End file.
